Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. – Asian automotive companies with technological connections to the Ann Arbor area – are partly banking their sales hopes this year on new vehicles that they believe fill voids in the market.

Toyota used its entire time slot during Day Two of press previews at the North American International Auto Show to promote the 2009 Venza, a new crossover sedan.

The vehicle will be produced solely in North America for the North American market. Its engineering was completed at the Toyota Technical Center in York Township, which is south of Ann Arbor.

Bruce Brownlee, Toyota's senior executive administrator for external affairs and director of the technical center, said his engineering team helped turn the company's FT-SX concept into a practical production vehicle.

"Some of the visibility of the original vehicle made it difficult for people to see outside, so you have to kind of change it," Brownlee said. "The styling had to be adapted so there's good visibility all around. That's a good example of something that we take from a concept car into a real production model."

Hyundai, meanwhile, which has a technical center in Superior Township, is hoping to reshape the market for luxury vehicles by offering a more affordable sports sedan it's calling the 2009 Genesis.

The South Korean automaker used its entire slot on the first press preview day to unveil the new vehicle – which represents the automaker's first attempt to steal market share from other luxury brands.

Toyota is hoping that the five-passenger Venza, which feels like a sport utility vehicle but is closer to the size of a sedan, will fill a void in the market.

"Our engineers moved outside of the SUV box to bring to the market something that's been missing from today's automotive industry," said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager. "The result is an intelligent and well thought-out car with luxury sedan features with the utility of an SUV."

The first version of the Venza will contain a 268-horsepower, V-6 engine with a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds. A few months after sales begin – which is expected in September or October – the automaker will release a 2.7-liter, 4-cylinder version of the car. Toyota declined to release information about pricing.

The V6 has 20-inch alloy wheels, and the 4-cylinder will have 19-inch alloy wheels. The vehicle has seven airbags.

Brownlee's Toyota team has played a key role in a number of major products, including the Tundra truck and the Avalon.

"This is the kind of product that is exclusively for the North American customer, as the Tundra is, as the Avalon is," Brownlee said.

Brownlee said Toyota likes to design and engineer vehicles in the markets the vehicle will be targeting – because the local talent has a better understanding of what the market is demanding.

"They have a much better sense of the needs and environments of our customer so we try to adapt the vehicle to that customer's needs," he said.

Irv Miller, Toyota's U.S. vice president for corporate communications, suggested that the company is considering developing a hybrid version of the Venza.

"It's still in discussion, but it sure looks like it might make some sense," he said.

Miller said Toyota expects the Venza to reach young families and consumers who need the ample space the vehicle provides for items such as skis, sports equipment and luggage.

"We just think it's a good opportunity in the marketplace. We think the crossover has a lot of opportunity," Miller said. "We have a lot of confidence in that market. The styling of this vehicle, we think, is going to capture the imagination of people."

In perhaps one of the show's most direct assaults on a competitor, Hyundai executives compared the Genesis to offerings from BMW, Lexus and Mercedes.

"We think it's got the performance of a BMW 5-series, the interior package of a BMW 7-series and a price that's going to be more like the 3-series," said John Krafcik, Hyundai USA's vice president for product development and strategic planning.

The rear-wheel drive Genesis is "lighter and more rigid than either the BMW 5-series or the Mercedes-Benz E-class," Krafcik said.

Technologies available in the vehicle – which is expected to start sales this summer - will include smart cruise control, adaptive front lighting system, Lexicon audio systems, Bluetooth capabilities and iPod and USB inputs.

"The Hyundai Genesis was created to establish a new paradigm in the premium car market. Its performance capabilities and luxury features are comparable to sedans costing far more," Krafcik said. "Yet when the Genesis will go on sale next summer, it will have the kind of value equation you've come to expect from Hyundai."

Krafcik declined to give a price range for the vehicle, but Hyundai's Web site says it will retail for less than $30,000.

"We designed the car for folks who enjoy driving. But we're also interested in a certain kind of person that doesn't necessarily think it's a great thing to pay an extra five or 10 thousand dollars for brand premium," he said.